Employsure Voices | Black Velvet Cakes
Published: December 7, 2023
Employsure Voices is our way of shining the spotlight on our clients and their stories. This month, we spoke with Luke who shared with us the importance of a strong relationship with his staff, and how Employsure has supported the specific needs of his business to support the growth and improvement he is looking to achieve.
Read Transcript
In about 2015, a friend of mine
started Black Velvet.
The products were great.
It was getting some celebrity backing
which was good and winning some awards,
but it wasn't going anywhere.
I created the e-commerce store online
and then as things progressed,
I got more involved in the business
as it grew, and
from that
it just kept on snowballing
bigger and bigger to what we have now.
If you think of a cake
like the ones that we have, like
celebration cakes,
it really is the center of attention
for the celebrant.
We're very hard on ourselves
on making sure
nothing bad goes out because this is such
an important moment for someone's
21st, 30th, 40th, 50th.
We even have cakes
done for people
who are turning 100, which,
you know, is just,
it just warms and melts your heart.
Very early on in the business,
we started a contract with Employsure,
to help us with all matters of HR.
My philosophy was,
I worked in so many industries before
Black Velvet,
I wanted to pick
the best of what I've learned
and create that for this business.
It’s wonderful because they have
so many templates that we use.
I can call them up and say, “Hey,
I need to start performance management.
What do I do?”,
and they just supply me with templates
and they can walk me through it,
and they have guides
about how to start a performance
management system in the business.
Another part of Employsure
that I subscribe to
is the Workplace Health and Safety.
This is really important to me,
not only for my employees
but also
mitigating the risks of the business. So,
Employsure have provided me with
standard operating procedures for ovens,
for our pot washers, for the mixers.
And what they are is instruction
guides and warnings
that staff have to read
and accept
before they start using the equipment.
There's just so much to cover
and as a business owner,
I can't be a HR professional,
doing this full time,
that’s why I rely on Employsure.
These employees come and
they get trained by us,
we want them to stay.
So create the best environment you can.
As the business grows,
we have to have strong partners.
I have strong lawyers,
I have strong accountants.
I need someone strong in HR
and that's what Employsure provides.